For the second year in a row, Coca-Cola is facing public backlash over its use of AI-generated imagery in its global Christmas campaign.
The beverage giant’s new holiday advert, released in late October 2025, has reignited debates about authenticity, creativity, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in modern marketing.
Coca-Cola’s 2025 campaign, part of its ongoing “Real Magic” platform, was intended to celebrate imagination and innovation.
The ad showcased cozy, snow-filled towns, festive lights, and families gathering for the holidays—all brought to life with the help of generative AI tools.
But shortly after its release, fans noticed something off. Social media users pointed out telltale signs of AI creation: slightly distorted faces, unrealistic hands, and surreal background details
This year’s uproar mirrors the backlash that followed Coca-Cola’s 2024 ‘Create Real Magic’ campaign, which also relied heavily on AI-generated art.
That initiative invited fans to co-create digital holiday cards using Coca-Cola branding and AI art tools, sparking outrage from artists who said it exploited creative work trained on their illustrations without consent.
At the time, Coca-Cola defended its use of AI as an experiment in ‘blending human and machine creativity.’ The company pledged to approach future campaigns with “greater transparency.” Yet, twelve months later, the public reaction suggests that promise remains unfulfilled.
Industry analysts and artists alike say Coca-Cola has failed to learn from last year’s experience. While the brand emphasized that the 2025 ad was edited by human designers, critics argue that the underlying visuals still feel “cold” and “manufactured.”
Independent illustrators have also joined the backlash, arguing that AI tools take opportunities away from real creatives.
“Coke could have hired hundreds of artists for this campaign,” one designer wrote on Instagram. “Instead, they chose prompts over people.”
In a statement shared with multiple outlets, Coca-Cola said its holiday content was created through a “collaborative process between human creators and AI tools”, with every final image reviewed by human art directors.
The company also emphasized that no copyrighted or third-party material was used in the creative process, insisting its AI systems were trained ethically and within brand guidelines.
Despite the clarification, online sentiment remains largely negative. Thousands of comments under the ad’s YouTube and TikTok uploads call for a return to traditional storytelling.
Marketing Dive reported that engagement on Coca-Cola’s Christmas content this year has been notably lower than in previous years, suggesting that consumer enthusiasm is fading
Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognizable brands, has long relied on emotion-driven marketing—from the iconic ‘Holidays Are Coming’ truck to the red-suited Santa Claus image popularized by its 20th-century ads.
Critics warn that replacing these human touchpoints with algorithmic art risks diluting decades of cultural heritage.